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Sunday, November 29, 2009

****UPDATE****Got a phone call from a manager at the Walmart store. Haven't gotten back with her yet, but will do so soon. Will post what happens.We had an "incident" happen when we went to Walmart on Black Friday. No details yet - - I have contacted Walmart, and am waiting for a response. If I dont' hear from them by tomorrow (Monday), I am contacting the Corporate office.More on this later . . .

Other than that, the four-day weekend was pretty nice, but extremely busy. Thanksgiving Day with Dad, and eating at one of his favorite restaurants, The Round Table. They always have good Thanksgiving meals. (Yes, we go out for Thanksgiving. Yes, I would be willing to cook, but transporting the meal all the way down to Dad's house and haul everything back would be a nightmare!)

The rest of the weekend has been pretty hectic as well. For one thing, our hot water heater has been acting up the past couple of weeks. The pilot light kept going out, and Mr. Dizzy would have to go down and relight it. He cleaned the thermocouple and hoped that would help, and for the past week or so it has been fine.

Until today.

I was taking my shower this morning when I noticed the water was getting less warm as time went on. I kept turning on more hot water, an finally realized it was turned all the way on, and it was lukewarm at best. We had gotten a new one a few months ago (a bigger one), but had not had the chance to get it installed. So, today was the day. It only took us a couple of hours. The new one seems to be working really well. (Keeping my fingers crossed . . . )

Well, the long weekend is almost over, and it's back to work tomorrow. I will post more about the Walmart incident, but want to see what happens next before I do. Stay tuned . . .

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Today is Thanksgiving. And, even though I have been fighting a big case of the "Sads" with everything goin on in my life at the moment, I felt today was a good day to step back and take a good look at my life, and find things that I am truly thankful for . . .

Monday, November 16, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

Dad and Mr. Dizzy went to Washington, DC, on one of the Central Illinois Honor Flights, on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009.

It was a very EARLY, very LONG, BUSY day for them! The bus left Effingham at 2:30 AM and headed down to Lambert Airport in St. Louis, where they were greeted by a large crowd of people wishing them well. From there, they flew into Reagan Airport, where another large crowd waited and greeted them, and then began their tours.

Unfortunately, the weather was terrible! It was a torrential downpour ALL. DAY. LONG. Fortunately, they had ponchos and umbrellas for the guys.

Here is the group of veterans in front of the WWII Memorial:

Here is Dad in front of the Illinois section of the Memorial:

At the Lincoln Memorial, Dad was very excited to have his picture taken in front of Mr. Lincoln:

Another highlight of the day was the opportunity to meet Bob Dole and his wife, Elizabeth Dole. They make a point of greeting the Honor Flights and meeting/greeting the veterans. Dad was very happy to have his picture taken with Elizabeth Dole, and said she was a very nice, very gracious lady:

Dad and Elizabeth Dole, Take Two:

Dad also got the chance to meet and speak with Bob Dole, and said he was a very, very nice man. Mr. Dole almost didn't get to come to this event; apparently he has been not feeling well, and is scheduled to have leg surgery very soon. But, he was determined to come and meet/greet the veterans - - it's something that means a lot to him and he loves doing it! The group was told that he would only be able to stay for about 5 minutes, due to his health problems. But, he stayed quite a bit longer than that, from what I understand!

Here is Dad with Bob Dole:

There were a lot of other places the group went to on their tours - - the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial - - I don't have the pictures for them cleaned up and ready to post yet. Those will follow in another post - - there are a LOT of pictures to go through. Mr. Dizzy took well over 100 photos! So, hopefully soon I will have more to put up here!

After a long, busy day, it was time to head back towards home. They made it to Reagan, and boarded the planes for home. But, the surprises of the day weren't over yet! Unknown to the veterans, the Honor Flight group had contacted family and friends of theirs, as well as schools and legislators, who sent in cards and letters for each one of the veterans on the Flight. During the trip home, they held a service-style "Mail Call" and passed out packets of mail to each member of the Flight. They were absolutely thrilled! Dad ended up with 40 letters/cards in his packet, and was so happy!

Once they landed back at Lambert, there was another reception for them - - a large group welcoming the men back home. Then, back on the bus and headed back to Effingham, where they pulled in around 11:30 PM. But, the day STILL was not over - - there was a large group there greeting the troops as they came home!

Finally, Dad and Mr. Dizzy made it back to their hotel room about 12:30 AM, and called it a day. And what a day it had been for both of them!Dad is still on Cloud Nine over the trip, and can't seem to wipe the smile off his face. But that's a very, very good thing.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Mr. Dizzy is with my Dad today in Washington, DC, participating in an Honor Flight. These flights take WWII Veterans and a guardian for each to the WWII Memorial, the Korean, Iwo Jima, and Vietnam Memorials, and also to the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Mr. Dizzy took his camera, and is taking LOTS of pictures, so I will have some to share!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

In my last post, I explained what PART of the problems were that kept me from blogging for so long, or even wanting to write ANYTHING about ANYTHING. So, here is the next part - -

My son and his wife, after 14 years of marriage, are getting divorced.

It's rough on both of them, I know, and it's rough on Mr. Dizzy and myself, and the rest of our families. But most of all, it's terribly hard on two of the most important men in my life - - my grandsons.

God, I hate that.

Mr. Dizzy and I have been trying very hard to spend as much time as possible with them to help ease the transition somewhat, but can anything do that? When you are age 7 or 10 and suddenly your Daddy is not in the picture - - heck, not even in the same STATE - - can anything "ease" you through that? I don't think so. All they know is that Daddy is not here, and even thought he calls all the time and they get to talk to him, they don't get to see him.

How do you explain that to them? HOW?

This past weekend my son was in town to see them, and from what I understand, it was difficult at best, especially for the oldest one. My heart breaks every time I think about it, and I wish there was a way I could "fix" things and make them all better. Unfortunately, I'm not a witch (hush) with magical powers. I can't wiggle my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and make things the way I want them.

I wish I could. For those two dear boys, I wish I could. I wish I could make all the hurt and pain go away. But I can't.